Indonesia Stock Market May Head South Again On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Monday snapped the two-day slide in which it had surrendered almost 100 points or 1.1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just shy of the 8,550-point plateau although it may hand back those gains on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected after recent strength. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the financial shares and resource stocks were capped by weakness from the cement and telecom companies.

For the day, the index gained 40.08 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 8,548.79 after trading between 8,493.25 and 8,553.62.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga shed 0.56 percent, while Bank Mandiri collected 0.62 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia added 0.40 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia climbed 1.17 percent, Bank Central Asia vaulted 1.51 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia fell 0.27 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison stumbled 2.09 percent, Indocement shed 0.38 percent, Semen Indonesia retreated 1.37 percent, United Tractors eased 0.09 percent, Astra International tanked 2.67 percent, Energi Mega Persada skyrocketed 21.32 percent, Astra Agro Lestari advanced 0.99 percent, Aneka Tambang spiked 2.75 percent, Timah slumped 1.53 percent, Bumi Resources gained 0.82 percent and Indofood Sukses Makmur and Vale Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Monday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.

The Dow tumbled 427.09 points or 0.90 percent to finish at 47,289.33, while the NASDAQ sank 89.76 points or 0.38 percent to close at 23,275.92 and the S&P 500 lost 36.46 points or 0.53 percent to end at 6,812.63.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders looked to cash in on last week's rally, which saw the major averages stage a significant recovery from the sharp pullback seen in November.

The major averages had closed higher for five consecutive sessions last week, clawing their way back toward record highs.

Stocks had recently benefited from renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates following dovish comments from leading Federal Reserve officials. However, the release of key U.S. economic data in the coming days could impact Fed officials' thinking.

Crude oil prices surged on Monday as the U.S. dollar came under pressure amid rate cut expectations. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.75 or 1.28 percent at $59.30 per barrel.